Unfair Dismissal Claims

While it may seem obvious, unfair dismissal claims are a different thing altogether from wrongful dismissal charges. This type of dismissal refers to when an employee is let go for reasons that are not fair. In this article we will discuss who qualifies for this type of claim, how to recognize unfair treatment, and more.

The first thing that we have to determine is whether or not an employee qualifies for damages from an unfair dismissal. An employee must have worked under his current employer for at least one year to file a claim. It is also important to realize that an employee doesn’t have to be fired to be dismissed, if he or she is not being paid for the work they are doing they still have a claim. An employee must also be under the age of sixty five or the normal retirement age of the company. And finally the person must have a job in the United Kingdoms, and not somewhere else. The unfair dismissal claim does not apply for fishermen, policemen, and several other civil servants. An employee should ensure he is protected by this law before filing a claim.

As with the wrongful dismissal, a claim for this charge must be brought to the tribunal within three months. Do not, I repeat do not, delay in filing this claim or it won’t be taken seriously. Once the claim is taken to the employment tribunal, the tribunal will look at the case and determine if there was an unfair dismissal and how much the damages should be.

There are several factors for which an employer could unfairly fire a worker. If the worker is fired for communicating with a union or taking part in their activities, it is unfair. Much the same, the employer cannot force an employee to join in a union he or she does not wish to be a part of. In addition, employees can file a claim that they were fired for redundancy unfairly. In other words they were chosen for this firing when they could have not been, and were selected because of some feature they have such as age. It is also unfair to fire a pregnant woman for no reason. If the pregnancy is holding up her from working and she is unable to do anything needed, a fire may be warranted. But in most cases firing a woman for her pregnancy is an unfair situation.

If an employee feels he has been fired unfairly and qualifies for the claim, he can take the case to the tribunal and hope to receive damages. This amount varies from case to case and usually depends on the wages and structure of the employees contract with his boss. There is a maximum on how much damages can be given to a worker. It is important to note that while this claim can be filed with a wrongful dismissal claim, the wrongful dismissal claim will take money out of the damages awarded from an unfair dismissal claim.

Unfair dismissal is something that is not frequently seen in the United Kingdoms and is harder to win in the tribunal than other damages. Still, if an employee does feel he or she has been unfair treated he or she should take the case to the tribunal.